Remains Of 4-Year-Old Found ‘Stuffed In A Drawer,’ South Carolina Couple Charged

A South Carolina woman and her boyfriend were arrested Wednesday (May 27) in connection with the death of a 4-year-old girl whose remains were found “stuffed in a drawer,” authorities said.

Jackleen Elizabeth Mullen, 23, and her live-in boyfriend Audrevious Jarrell Williams, 26, were charged with homicide by abuse or neglect, KRON-TV reported.

York County Sheriff’s Office alerted the Rock Hill Police Department to a possible child fatality. Officers arrived at the couple’s home on Gentle Breeze Lane in Rock Hill Tuesday around 11:30 p.m. (EST) and found the child dead in the couple’s bedroom, The Herald reported.

Mullen appeared in the York County criminal court and pleaded guilty to a forgery charge just a day before she was arrested on suspicion of the murder, according to the publication.

Rock Hill police Detective Keenan McCrorey said during a Wednesday court session that the victim, India Martin, had been a disabled child with special needs. He said the couple initially falsely told cops that the girl was living with family in North Carolina.

Mullen, the mother of Martin, “showed no emotion” during the investigation or even when her daughter’s body was recovered, McCrorey added.

“We found this child, dead, stuffed in a drawer,” McCrorey said in court, requesting the judge to deny them bails. Police told the judge that Mullen had been the caregiver of the child at the time of her death.

McCrorey revealed in court that the child showed signs of blunt force trauma and respiratory distress. Police didn’t immediately release details about how long the child had been dead.

Mullen and Williams would not speak in court Wednesday. Both of them were rendered legal representation.

Mullen and Williams have a child together, aged 1, the publication reported, citing court records. Mullen has another child, aged 4, and Williams has another child, aged 7. The judge ordered both of them to snap contact with the surviving children while the case is in progress.

The suspects were denied bond by the judge. If convicted, they could face up to life in prison.